Sorry to drop another U2 reference here, but sometimes we feel stuck in a moment and we can't get out of it. We'll again explain that these rankings aren't about who the top-to-bottom best teams on earth are, since that hardly changes over a season. This is about the shifts in power across the footballing world. That's why this week's rankings are a little odd. We've got two continental champions -- from Asia and Africa -- making their debuts after winning their respective Champions Leagues over the past two weeks. We've shown respect here before to winners of these competitions, who get to represent their continents at the Club World Cup in Japan (this year against the likes of AC Milan, Boca Juniors, Pachuca ... and, uh, Waitakere United of New Zealand). So at the expense of some other deserving clubs (FC Porto and Villarreal, anyone?), we welcome Japan's Urawa Reds and Tunisia's Étoile du Sahel onto the Rankings as the ultimate champions of their centers of power. Do they rank up there with the big boys on the field? Of course not. But think of them as giant red thumbtacks on the map of the soccer world. Note: All rankings, records and statistics are through Nov. 14.
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Manchester United
Arsenal still sits atop the English Premier League by virtue of goal differential, but Man United has been playing far better soccer of late, and rightly takes over the top spot. Bonus points especially for holding on for a 2-2 draw (which should have been a win) at Emirates Stadium on Nov. 3. When Sir Alex Ferguson -- perhaps the most accomplished coach in the history of the game, anywhere -- states this squad is the best he's ever had in his 21 years at Old Trafford, it's hard not to take an endorsement like that seriously.
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Arsenal
Had a nice phone chat avec Thierry Henry last week, and he said he was misquoted: He doesn't necessarily believe freewheeling Arsenal is better off without him. "I see the same Arsenal," he said, "moving the ball, playing one-two, touch football, scoring the Arsenal way. Players come and go. As long as they have Arsène Wenger, they will succeed." (Look for the full Q&A with Monsieur Henry on Nov. 26.)
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Inter Milan
It's been a solid couple weeks for the Serie A frontrunners, with a draw at Juventus and an impressive rally at home against CSKA Moscow in the Champions League. But once again, it all takes a backseat -- the Nerazzurri's match against Lazio last weekend was called off after yet more fan violence led to the tragic shooting of a Rome radio DJ by cops. At the risk of the biggest understatement ever, this is getting ridiculous. The Italian government needs to truly step in and take action here, because nothing the Italian FA is doing -- closing stadiums, calling games off entirely, etc. -- is quelling the spread of soccer-related violence in Italy. The game is already on life support, and the fans who truly love the game for what it is are suffering the most.
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Real Madrid
Kudos to Real for donating $100,000 to the victims of flooding in Mexico. The good vibes mask the fact that, on the field, the team is stuttering through a pretty anemic stretch: a 2-0 shellacking at Sevilla, a scoreless draw at Olympiakos in the Champions League and a narrow 4-3 win at home against mid-table Mallorca that required a furious rally from Real to make it out with any points at all. All this comes after manager Bernd Schuster likened his team's so-called "killer instinct" to that of tennis dominator Roger Federer. Karma sucks.
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FC Barcelona
For all its dominance, Barça just can't win on the road in La Liga this season. And that's despite controlling the ball. Its 2-0 loss to Getafe last weekend was typical -- 64 percent possession, but nary a scoring chance. "In certain matches away from home, some players are just not playing at their normal level," said an incriminating manager Frank Rijkaard the game. Need any hints who he's talking about? Sure, he came out primarily because of a tweaked ankle, but it was telling when Ronaldinho was subbed out in the 63rd minute.
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AS Roma
A pair of 2-2 draws in Serie A and the Champions League are what Roma has to show for its last two weeks, as well as yet another postponed match in the wake of the Italian tragedy. Fans of Man Utd (Roma's next opponent in Champs play) have actually been given the option of backing out of traveling to the Stadio Olimpico if they're too afraid to use their tickets. That is truly embarrassing.
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São Paulo
To the victors, the spoils, as the Tricolor Paulista sit back and enjoy their fifth Brazilian league championship with weeks to spare (even as they're loudly absent from the Copa Sudamericana finals). At least Rankings fave Rogério Ceni is getting some ink: Inter's Júlio César will uncomfortably play in goal for Brazil in next week's World Cup qualifier against Uruguay at the Morumbí. Ceni's iconic shadow will hang over his home stadium as he continues to be criminally overlooked by head coach Dunga.
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Club América
If you're scoring at home, América now becomes the third Mexican club to reach the Sudamericana finals in the past three years. Meanwhile, Mexican teams have made the semis in two of the past three Copa Libertadores tournaments as well. Clearly the gap is closing in Latin America. More amazing, though, is that las Águilas are still alive for the Mexican Apertura title (they play in the repechaje, or wild-card stage, of the playoffs Thursday night against Morelia). And by Sunday, as SI.com's Luis Bueno notes, they'll have blazed through a stacked schedule of 17 games in 58 days with solid results.
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Urawa Red Diamonds
I'm actually pretty happy to be able to put the first-time Asian Champions League winners up here, because: a) it helps drive home what these Rankings are all about; and b) it gives us a chance to salute the J-League, which is improving by giant steps every year. Japan also gets a home team to root for at the Club World Cup. Keep an eye on the Reds next month. A special shout-out to midfielder Shinji Ono (ex-Feyenoord favorite and Japanese international) who, though injured during the finals, earns his biggest achievement in his second stint with the club where he began his career.
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Étoile du Sahel
"Who??" is the correct response here. Even though this Tunisian club has won plenty of hardware, not many thought it would walk away with its first African Champions League title at the expense of Al-Ahly of Cairo. But Étoile not only beat the two-time defending champs in the finals, it also sent shockwaves throughout the continent by dethroning the most powerful club in all of Africa over the past 10 years or so. The Tunisians get the ticket to Japan instead, without one single World Cup veteran among their ranks.
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Honorable mentions: FC Porto, Villarreal, Rangers, Fenerbahçe, Lanús, Santos Laguna, Boca Juniors
Dropped off: Bayern Munich, River Plate, AC Milan
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